Are Electronics Destroying Our Children?

Everywhere we turn today there is another electronic device popping up, and these are not just for adults anymore. There are computers, tablets, games, educational programs and applications all geared toward children.

But this raises the question. How safe is it for growing children to spend time on mobile devices? While there is still more research that needs to be undertaken, there are some concerns that need to be considered.

Younger children are growing and developing at an amazing rate. During the first two years of a child’s life, its brain triples in size. During this time, the child goes from lying around looking out at the world to toddling and trying out their first words. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children two and under not have any exposure to technology. But toddlers aren’t the only ones the AAP recommends limited technology use for. They say 3-5 year olds limit their use to an hour a day and 6-18 year olds only spend two hours a day immersed in technology. Why?

There are a number of reasons for caution when exploring the excessive technology use of today. More studies need conducted, as much of the current data on technology’s detrimental effects on children has been pulled from TV viewing practices. Where TV viewing is a passive activity, there are many interactive and challenging games and programs for mobile devices today. But some of the same concerns exist.

Childhood obesity is a huge concern in the United States today and excessive use of mobile devices only contributes to the problem. Children need to be encouraged to move and explore.

Many children are struggling with their focusing abilities, and frequent mobile device use with flashy, attention-grabbing activities, videos and games does not help.

Sleep deprivation is already a concern for many school-age children and there is a concern that children stay up later than is healthy to continue playing games or watching videos. While occasional late nights are fine, when it becomes a habit, a child can significantly suffer.

There are many other concerns to be considered, like radiation emission, mental illness, aggression and even addictions. More studies need to be conducted.

All of these cautions would be enough to encourage parents to seriously evaluate how and when their children use mobile devices. But perhaps the greatest caution is how excessive mobile device use can encourage a disconnect from others. Families once sat and talked, or played games together. When issues arose, problems were dealt with.

But today, when issues appear, children (and adults) distract themselves, create a new reality in the digital world and even explore detrimental experiences and relationships in a very disconnected way. This can significantly impact a child’s ability to develop healthy relationships. Many adults lack self-control, and children struggle with it just as much, if not more so. The problem becomes even more critical when we realize that children are developing. The rest of their life will be shadowed and heavily influenced by how they grow up. Teaching children to engage with the world around them, form relationships with friends and family face to face will have a powerful, lasting effect on them for the rest of their lives.

Finally, the last and serious caution that needs to be raised is the prevalence of pornography available to children. Yes, available to children. Many recovering addicts talk of seeing porn at a young age and being both disgusted and attracted. They continued to explore online and were sucked into porn use before they fully understood what was happening, and far before they could fully understand the dangers involved or make wise decisions. This isn’t rare. The average age a child is exposed to pornography is young, 11 years old.

In 2008 my life changed when Barack Obama came into my front yard on a campaign stop. I asked him why he wanted to raise taxes, and he said that he wanted to “spread the wealth.” Since then, I have gained a national following as “Joe the Plumber” and now travel the country speaking and encouraging other everyday folks to get involved in the political process.